Devereux shook her head. “Thank you, but I must decline. My husband has promised me a fattening meal and I do not want to miss his joust match.”
Even as she said the words, the unnamed knight was taking her gently by the elbow and pulling her to her feet. Simon rose as well, gesturing to the knight that now had a firm grip on her.
“This is Sir Darien de Russe,” he introduced the pair. “He will be your escort to the Tower. I shall follow shortly and we may continue this conversation.”
Devereux looked at the knight and tried to tug her arm away. “As I said, I do not wish to go,” she said, firmer. “I must go to my husband now. The battle is over and he will be hungry. Perhaps we may speak later if it pleases you.”
The knight didn’t let go. He began to pull, soon putting two hands on her. Frightened, Devereux suddenly turned into a wildcat.
“Release me,” she demanded, slapping at his hands. “Let me go!”
Simon continued to smile, waving the knight on as if completely ignoring her demands. Devereux, terrified at being taken against her will, balled a fist and swung with all her might at the knight’s face. She caught him in the nose, causing him to release his grip enough for her to pull away. She darted in the opposite direction.
“Davyss!” she screamed. “Davyss!”
Devereux dodged to the edge of the royal box and flipped herself over the rail, landing in the dust about eight feet below.She wasn’t hurt and bolted to her feet just as Darien hit the dirt beside her. She scrambled away from the man as he made a swipe for her, screaming her husband’s name as she ran.
She was creating quite a scene. Those still in the lists after the end of the mêlée strained to get a better view of what was going on. All they could see was a lovely woman running from a big knight. Devereux eventually found an opening in the railing that lined the arena floor and she bolted through it with Darien in pursuit.
The moment she began running across the dusty arena floor, however, she could see Davyss charging in her direction. She was fully prepared to throw herself into his arms but he rushed right by her. When she came to an unsteady halt and turned around, she could see that he had gone after Darien. Davyss tackled the knight so hard that they both went hurling to the ground, sliding several feet through the dust before coming to a stop. Fists began to fly and as Devereux shrieked in fear, Hugh and Andrew suddenly bolted past her. They all went down on Davyss and Darien and the crowd erupted happily as a massive brawl escalated.
Devereux stood with her hands to her mouth, her eyes wide with shock as she watched a huge dust cloud fly up around the clashing men. A gentle hand suddenly took her by the elbow and she shrieked again until she saw that it was Edmund Catesby.
His young face was wide with concern. “Are you well, my lady?” he asked her. “What happened?”
Devereux didn’t even know what to say; whathadhappened? She began to stammer. “I… I do not know what happened,” she grasped for words. “One moment, I was speaking with Lord Simon and in the next, he was ordering his knight to return me to the Tower. I told him I did not want to go but he would not listen. He tried to force me.”
More men were charging on to the field as de Winter and his men lost themselves in combat against a lone knight. A few of de Montfort’s men tried to intervene and suddenly, a four man brawl turned into a multi-man scuffle. Men were rushing in from all angles of the field and soon, the swords came out. Field marshals began to rush to the fighting mass, pulling men apart and trying to calm the situation. And at the very heart of it was Davyss.
Devereux could see clearly when the sea of men cleared and he pushed himself off the ground. De Russe was underneath him and not moving. As Davyss turned around and began to walk back to his wife, Hugh decked one of de Montfort’s knights and the fight started all over again. But Davyss removed himself from it; he was only concerned with his wife at the moment.
He came upon her, reaching out to grasp her by the arms. He was dirty and dusty and had a cut on his lip, but was unharmed for the most part. The hazel eyes were potent.
“What happened, sweetling?” he half-demanded, half-pleaded. “Why was de Russe chasing you?”
Devereux had been rather brave up until that moment. Suddenly realizing she was safe, she struggled to blink away the tears. “Lord Simon summoned me,” she told him. “We were speaking and suddenly he ordered that knight to take me back to the Tower. I told him that I did not want to go but he would not listen. He began to drag me away and I became scared. I ran from him.”
Davyss listened to her explanation, an ominous feeling of dread coming over him. “He tried to abduct you?”
She shrugged her slender shoulders. “I do not know, exactly. All I know was that I told him I did not want to go to the Tower and he tried to force me.”
Davyss’ nostrils flared, never a good sign. He put his arm around her shoulders and began to lead her out of the arena. AsDevereux clutched him tightly and struggled not to cry, Davyss issued orders to Edmund who was walking next to her. The young knight acknowledged Davyss’ directives and departed. In silence, Davyss led his wife all the way back to his still-tethered charger.
He still didn’t say a word as he untied the animal and began to lead it, and Devereux, back to his tents. She continued to cling to him, refusing to let him go until he gently coaxed her to sit. As his wife sat in gloomy silence, sniffling intermittently, he began to remove his armor. She had been looking at her lap until she heard the mail hood hit the ground. Then she looked up at him, startled.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
Davyss was focused on removing his protection. “Undressing,” he told her. “We are returning to Hollyhock.”
She felt somewhat guilty. “But you have been looking forward to this,” she said, watching him pull off his gloves. “I pulled you away from the mêlée and you have not even jousted yet. I will have ruined your entire day.”
He suddenly stopped, an odd twinkle in his eye. “Is that what you think?” he asked her. “That you have ruined my day?”
She half-nodded, half-shrugged, looking extremely guilty and he went to her, cupping her chin in his big hand and forcing her to look up at him.
“Sweetling, you have not ruined anything,” he assured her softly. “I do not like that Simon tried to take you against your will. The next time, you might not be so fortunate to get away. I intend to have serious words with the man this evening but, for now, I wish to return home.”
In truth, Devereux was somewhat disappointed. She wanted to see him joust in spite of her fears, for what she had seen of her husband’s fighting abilities during that day had greatlyimpressed her. He was rather exciting to watch. But she couldn’t disagree with his assessment of her encounter with Simon.
